Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Islamic State

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the number of Iraqi and Syrian Christians and other religious minorities who have been murdered or displaced from their homes by the actions of ISIS in each of the last five years; and what specific plans they have to provide practical assistance and asylum opportunities for persecuted Christians seeking to flee that region.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: We do not hold figures for the numbers of minorities who have been murdered or displaced by Daesh. The situation is desperate for many communities within Syria and Iraq. We condemn in the strongest terms the atrocities committed by Daesh against all civilians, including Christians, Mandeans, Yezidis, and other minorities, as well as the majority Muslim population in Iraq and Syria who continue to bear the brunt of Daesh’s brutality.The persecution of Christians, and individuals of all faiths, anywhere in the world is of profound concern to us. The freedom to practise, change or share your faith or belief without discrimination or violent opposition is a fundamental human right that all people should enjoy.The Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), announced that the existing Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement (VPR) scheme would be expanded to resettle 20,000 refugees during this Parliament. The Syrian VPR scheme is based on need and does not discriminate on religious grounds. As many Christians are likely to be particularly vulnerable it is highly likely that some will qualify under the scheme’s criteria.Ultimately, the only way to protect Christians and other religious minorities from Daesh is by defeating this terrible organisation, which in turn requires, amongst other things, ending the conflict in Syria. The Prime Minister set out the UK’s comprehensive strategy for defeating Daesh and finding a political settlement to the Syria conflict in his response to the Foreign Affairs Committee on 26 November 2015.

Syria: Females

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what proposals, if any, they have made, and what further action they will take, to ensure that the voices of women are heard in all future negotiations about Syria.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: We have consistently urged the UN Special Envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, as well as representatives of the moderate Syrian opposition to ensure that women are fully represented in negotiations with the Syrian regime. This was the case at the Geneva peace talks two years ago where women were represented on the opposition negotiating team. Further UN-brokered talks between the Syrian regime and opposition are planned for late January; we and our partners will continue to encourage the opposition and organisers to involve women fully in the process.

Yemen: Peace Negotiations

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the ceasefire in Yemen has been extended beyond 28 December 2015.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: The Saudi Arabian-led Coalition formally announced the end of their ceasefire on 2 January citing numerous breaches and provocations by Houthi/Saleh forces, particularly along the border with Yemen. The UK fully supports the efforts of the UN to reconvene Yemeni parties in the coming weeks for further dialogue and to work towards a meaningful and sustainable ceasefire that is respected by all sides.

Yemen: Military Intervention

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Saudi Arabia about the repeated bombing of facilities of Médecins Sans Frontières.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: We are in regular dialogue with the Government of Saudi Arabia regarding the conflict in Yemen. We are very concerned and saddened by an attack on a Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) centre in Yemen on 10 January and offer our condolences to the families of those affected. It is important to establish the cause of this incident. We welcome the public announcement by Saudi Arabia to establish a fact finding committee into the alleged airstrike on the MSF mobile clinic in Taiz on 2 December. It is important that Saudi Arabia conducts investigations into incidents which have raised concerns. We continue to call on all parties to the conflict to fulfil their obligations under international humanitarian law.

Israel: Palestinians

Lord Polak: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations have they made to the Palestinian Authority following the seizure by Israeli customs of 4,000 incitement dolls, allegedly designed to encourage stone throwing, destined for the West Bank.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: We have not raised this specific issue with the Palestinian Authority. Since the start of the current violence we have spoken regularly to both the Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority, urging them to use their influence to de-escalate the tensions. We continue to support the reinstatement of the Tripartite Committee as the appropriate channel to deal with allegations of incitement from either side.

Israel: Palestinians

Lord Polak: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas over recent reports that he said that violence by Palestinians constitutes a "justified popular uprising".

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: Our Deputy Consul General to Jerusalem raised this issue with President Abbas's Diplomatic Adviser, Majdi Khaldi, on 17 December. Mr Khaldi informed us that President Abbas condemned violence against Israelis and Palestinians.

Israel: Palestinians

Lord Polak: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the Palestinian Authority Ministry of Health following its description of Nashat Milhem as "one of the dearest Martyrs, and his name is engraved with his pure blood, which watered the ground of our free land".

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: We have not raised this specific issue with the Palestinian Authority. Since the start of the current violence we have spoken regularly to both the Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority, urging them to use their influence to de-escalate the tensions. We continue to support the reinstatement of the Tripartite Committee as the appropriate channel to deal with allegations of incitement from either side.

Israel: Palestinians

Lord Polak: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what recent representations they have made to the Palestinian Authority over reports that it has provided millions in monthly salaries to convicted Palestinian terrorists serving sentences in Israeli jails.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: The UK regularly raises the issue of prisoner payments with the Palestinian Authority (PA). The Minister of State for International Development, my right hon. Friend the Member for New Forest West (Mr Swayne) raised the matter with PA Finance Minister Bishara during his visit to the Occupied Palestinian Territories in August 2014. No UK money is used for payments to Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, or their families. The UK’s direct financial assistance to the PA is used to pay the salaries of public sector workers only.

Department for Education

Academies: Special Educational Needs

Lord Ouseley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what guidance they give to academies about having education, health and care plans in order to stop them from turning away children with special needs.

Lord Nash: It is vital that young people with special education needs and disabilities (SEND) are supported throughout their education so that they develop the knowledge and skills they need to fulfil their potential.The School Admissions Code ensures that academies operate a fair admissions policy for all children with SEND. Section 1.8 of that Code requires admission authorities to ‘ensure that their arrangements will not disadvantage unfairly, either directly or indirectly, a child from a particular social or racial group, or a child with a disability or special educational needs.’ These provisions apply to admission authorities for all state-funded mainstream schools, including academies.Once a school (of any type) is open, anyone can object to the Schools Adjudicator if its admission policy breaches these requirements. This is in addition to their right to seek redress through the courts for any breach of equalities legislation, since disability is a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010. Parents also have the right to refer disability discrimination cases to the First Tier Tribunal (SEN & Disability) to seek redress if their issues cannot be resolved locally.In addition, all schools, including academies, must adhere to the statutory guidance, the ‘Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice: 0-25 years’.The Code of Practice is clear that parents are asked to express a preference for a school, as part of the process for agreeing an education and health care (EHC) plan for their child. The local authority must name the parents’ preferred school in the EHC plan, unless it is unsuitable for the child’s age, aptitude, ability and special educational needs; or if placing the child at the preferred school would be incompatible with the efficient education of others or the efficient use of the authority’s resources. The local authority must consult the school before naming it in the EHC plan.If an academy is named in an EHC plan, it is obliged to admit that child or young person.

UN Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women

Baroness Northover: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will nominate a candidate to serve on the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women, and if not, why not.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The UK strongly supports the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and is committed to advancing women's rights through the United Nations machinery.We have not nominated a candidate to the CEDAW Committee and do not intend to do so. Our decision not to nominate a UK expert for election to the Committee is based on a number of considerations, including the need to allow for a reasonable amount of time and substantial resources to mount a campaign.CEDAW Committee members serve in their personal capacity and do not represent the Member State that nominated them. We have full faith in the independence of the Committee and applaud the high quality of its work.UK nationals are well represented on other UN treaty monitoring bodies, such as the Human Rights Committee and the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Ministry of Justice

Ports: Alderney

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Taylor of Bolton on 7 July 2009 (WA 122), why the Background briefing on the Crown Dependencies on the Ministry of Justice website indicates that the maintenance costs of the Alderney breakwater form part of Guernsey’s annual voluntary contribution towards the cost of its "defence and international representation by the UK" when the Ministry of Defence ceded responsibility for the maintenance of that anchorage in 1950.

Lord Faulks: The background briefing paper to which the noble Lord refers correctly represents the current position. The United Kingdom is responsible for the defence and international representation of the Crown Dependencies, including the Bailiwick of Guernsey of which Alderney forms part. The Alderney breakwater was completed in 1865 to shelter Royal Navy vessels. In 1950 responsibility for its maintenance was transferred from the Ministry of Defence to the Home Office. The maintenance costs continued to be met by HM Government until 1 April 1987, when Guernsey assumed responsibility for maintaining the breakwater as part of its annual voluntary contribution towards the costs of defence and international representation undertaken by the UK.

Ministry of Defence

Warships: Helicopters

Lord West of Spithead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 18 December 2015 (HL4511), how they define "command" in that answer; and whether command of helicopters in all Royal Navy warships will be dependent on a variety of factors such as, but not limited to, the specific task, whether it is a national or coalition commitment, threat levels and theatre of operations.

Earl Howe: Command and control definitions are outlined in Joint Defence Publication 3-00. As with most other capabilities, command of all Carrier Enabled Power Projection assets would be dependent on a variety of factors, such as, but not limited to, the specific task, whether it is a national or coalition commitment, threat levels and theatre of operations. Any deviation from this default command and control position will continue to be considered over the course of the programme, utilising experience and military judgement from a broad range of sources.

Aircraft Carriers: Joint Strike Fighter Aircraft

Lord West of Spithead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 18 December 2015 (HL4510), which part of the Strategic Headquarters in the Ministry of Defence will make the decision for Sea Lightning squadrons to be embarked; and whether that part of the Strategic Headquarters is responsible for programming all aspects of ship training that constitute the basis for complex training involving all aspects of whole ship and Sea Lightning operation.

Earl Howe: Following Ministerial direction, the decision to embark our Lightning II Squadrons for operational purposes would be taken by the Chief of Defence Staff, as the military strategic commander responsible for the planning, direction and conduct of all military operations. The Front Line Commands remain responsible for force generation and for ensuring that training requirements are met for all carrier assets.

Astute Class Submarines

Lord West of Spithead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 8 December 2015 (HL4049), whether HMS Astute was laid down on 31 January 2001, launched on 8 June 2007 and commissioned on 27 August 2010; and whether HMS Artful was laid down on 11 March 2005 and launched on 17 May 2014 and is planned to be commissioned in March 2016.

Earl Howe: The dates that the noble Lord refers to, including the planned commissioning date for Artful, are correct. The build time for the Astute class submarines has reduced with every boat built to date; for HMS Astute, the time taken from start of manufacture to operational handover was 170 months, which included first of class trials, and for Artful was 137 months.

Nuclear Submarines

Lord West of Spithead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 8 December 2015 (HL4047), whether the build time of HMS Vanguard from beginning of whole boat construction to commissioning was six years 11 months; and, if so, why the first Vanguard replacement will take in excess of 14 years, as laid out in the Strategic Defence and Security Review.

Earl Howe: The Vanguard class were built at the end of an extensive period of UK submarine production. UK industrial capacity diminished following the subsequent 10 year gap in submarine building, which is a key factor in the Successor build schedule. Additionally, the Vanguard build duration, which was more than eight years in duration, did not include sea trials, which take several years. The dates for Successor reported in the Strategic Defence and Security Review do include that activity.

Aircraft Carriers: Military Aircraft

Lord West of Spithead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 5 January (HL4757), at what range from an airbase could UK land-based fighter aircraft provide constant air cover for one of the Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers.

Earl Howe: The range would be variable and dependent on a number of factors, such as: the geographical location of the theatre of operation; basing options available; the threat level being faced; the specific task in question, and types and numbers of assets available. Precise ranges and specific capabilities cannot be disclosed for reasons of safeguarding operational security.

Ulster Defence Regiment

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have compensated those members of the Ulster Defence Regiment who underwent target practice without ear muffs; and if not, why not.

Earl Howe: Yes, although some claims remain under consideration.

Aircraft Carriers: Harrier Aircraft

Lord West of Spithead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answers by Earl Howe on 16 December 2015 (HL4512 and HL4513), how long RAF Joint Force Harrier squadrons had to stay on board anti-submarine warfare carriers to ensure all pilots were flight qualified.

Earl Howe: Depending on weather and aircraft serviceability, it usually took Joint Force Harrier Squadron pilots, on average, three to four weeks to qualify for combat operations from an Invincible Class carrier.

Aircraft Carriers: Joint Strike Fighter Aircraft

Lord West of Spithead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 18 December 2015 (HL4511), whether embarked United States Marine Corps F-35B aircraft will abide by the US joint service publications on command and control for the Joint Force (Maritime and Air) Component Commanders, and whether those guidelines will apply to UK Component Commanders in Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carrier operations.

Earl Howe: We continue to identify opportunities to develop interoperability and synergy with our allies. The precise command and control arrangements for potential US embarkations will be developed over the course of the programme, utilising our own experience and that of our allies.

Department for Work and Pensions

Access to Work Programme

Baroness Thomas of Winchester: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many times in the last year the Access to Work scheme has contributed to funding(1) the installation of a disabled toilet in a workplace, and (2) the adaptation of an existing workplace toiletinto one suitable for disabled people.

Baroness Altmann: This information is not readily available.In all cases where adaptations to premises are required, advisers will look to see what reasonable adjustment has first been made in accordance with employers obligations under the Equality Act.Dependent on the size of the business, an employer contribution may also be sought.

Department for Communities and Local Government

Private Rented Housing

Lord Beecham: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to review the operation of property guardianship schemes, and if so, whether that review will include the level of charges, standard of living conditions, and impact on local authority finances.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The Government does not have any involvement in these arrangements. We have no plans to change that.

Housing Estates: Regeneration

Lord Scriven: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they calculated the amount of funding required for the 100 "sink estates" that they have identified for regeneration projects, and how they plan to distribute the total amount between those selected estates.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: Funding has been agreed through the Spending Review which considered requirements for ongoing commitments and scope for supporting new proposals for estate regeneration. We are clear that government funding will be one element of support for estate regeneration going forward and that other investment from the public and private sectors will be needed. We are looking to engage with as many estates as possible to encourage new ideas, innovation and partnerships in regenerating estates.My noble Friend, the rt. hon. Lord Heseltine, is leading an Advisory Panel on estate regeneration which will establish an Estates Regeneration Strategy, explore what schemes can come forward and identify barriers that the Government can help remove which hold back estate regeneration.

Department of Health

Health Services: Older People

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the membership and terms of reference of the investigation commissioned by NHS England into the circumstances leading up to the termination of the contract between Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Clinical Commissioning Group and UnitingCare Partnership to deliver urgent care for the over-65s and adult community services.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they expect the investigation commissioned by NHS England into the circumstances leading up to the termination of the contract between Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Clinical Commissioning Group and UnitingCare Partnership to deliver urgent care for the over-65s and adult community services to be completed.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will publish in full the report and recommendations of the investigation commissioned by NHS England into the circumstances leading up to the termination of the contract between Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Clinical Commissioning Group and UnitingCare Partnership to deliver urgent care for the over-65s and adult community services.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what arrangements will be made for those with relevant knowledge or experience to be able to contact those carrying out the investigation commissioned by NHS England into the circumstances leading up to the termination of the contract between Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Clinical Commissioning Group and UnitingCare Partnership to deliver urgent care for the over-65s and adult community services.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what arrangements will be made for the investigation commissioned by NHS England into the circumstances leading up to the termination of the contract between Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Clinical Commissioning Group and UnitingCare Partnership to deliver urgent care for the over-65s and adult community services to be conducted in public.

Lord Prior of Brampton: NHS England advises that it has commissioned David Stout OBE to carry out an independent review of the contract between Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Clinical Commissioning Group and UnitingCare Partnership. The terms of reference are to establish, from a commissioner perspective, the key facts and root causes behind the termination of the contract in December 2015 and to draw out recommendations and lessons to be learned. This will include a review of documentation and discussion with staff members.Relevant individuals will be contacted during the course of the review to inform the findings. NHS England is also setting up a web page which will include an email address where comments and responses can be submitted. This will enable the public to contribute.The review is expected to start in January and to be completed in February 2016. NHS England plans to publish the review when complete.

Health Services: Staffordshire

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the awarding of the Staffordshire Cancer and End of Life Services Contract will be delayed pending publication of the investigation commissioned by NHS England into the circumstances leading up to the termination of the contract between Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Clinical Commissioning Group and UnitingCare Partnership to deliver urgent care for the over-65s and adult community services.

Lord Prior of Brampton: NHS England advises that the award of any contract for the cancer and end of life service procurements in Staffordshire will take place only after NHS England has carried out an assurance exercise around the proposed arrangements. The design of this assurance exercise will be informed by the outcome of the review of the termination of the contract between Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Clinical Commissioning Group and UnitingCare Partnership.

Tomography

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the awarding of the second phase of the National PET-CT contract for England will be delayed pending publication of the investigationcommissioned by NHS England into the circumstances leading up to the termination of the contract between Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Clinical Commissioning Group and UnitingCare Partnership to deliver urgent care for the over-65s and adult community services.

Lord Prior of Brampton: NHS England advises that there is no direct relationship or clinical interdependency between positron emission tomography–computed tomography (PET-CT) and urgent care services, and therefore the investigation of the termination of the contract between Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Clinical Commissioning Group and UnitingCare Partnership has no influence on the PET-CT procurement timescales.

NHS: Procurement

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what costs have been incurred by the NHS Commissioning Board, Commissioning Support Units and Clinical Commissioning Groups in conducting the Lead Provider Framework procurement process to date, including those spent on external advisers and employed staff time.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The total costs incurred by the NHS Commissioning Board in conducting the Lead Provider Framework procurement process amount to £551,000, which includes staff costs, external legal costs and costs associated with the sizable evaluation panel.The NHS Commissioning Board provides expert procurement and legal support to clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) in order to run their procurement through the Lead Provider Framework. Any costs incurred providing this support are covered by a management fee that the NHS Commissioning Board collects from any successful provider.This helps minimise the costs incurred by CCGs when running competitions from the framework. As of December 2015, total Commissioning Support Units spend was £8.4 million with a further £1.4 million identified as future known commitments to year end.

NHS: Procurement

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what benefits aside from the 10 per cent price reduction that policy required have accrued from conducting the Lead Provider Framework procurement process to date.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The Lead Provider Framework enables clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) to run a simpler, legally compliant and more efficient process than typical European procurements in order to source high quality commissioning support from accredited, professional at scale providers.Sourcing commissioning support collaboratively with other commissioners enables CCGs to benefit from the economies of scale and the diverse range of smaller niche organisations that the nine Lead Providers bring together.The Lead Provider Framework has already led to consolidation within the market, driving efficiency and has improved the quality and range of services offered. CCGs are expected to benefit from further efficiencies as providers compete for their contracts.

NHS: Procurement

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what arrangements have been put in place for independent external evaluation of the Lead Provider Framework process, and when that evaluation will report.

Lord Prior of Brampton: Given the relatively early stage of procurements from the Lead Provider Framework, it would be premature to undertake an independent evaluation. NHS England is, however, keen to learn lessons as to how the Lead Provider Framework process can be improved for users and bidders alike.NHS England has therefore sought feedback from clinical commissioning groups (CCGs), providers and NHS clinical commissioners. They are acting on this information and are intending to share lessons learnt with those CCGs who are yet to use the Lead Provider Framework; for example by sharing specifications and evaluation approaches that other organisations have developed.

Commissioning Support Units: Management Consultants

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what costs Commissioning Support Units have incurred in spending, or have committed to spend, on external management consultancies in 2015–16, for (1) internal business support, and (2) providing support to Clinical Commissioning Groups, the NHS Commissioning Board and others.

Lord Prior of Brampton: As of December 2015, Commissioning Support Units spend on external consultancy for 2015/16 was £8.4 million with a further £1.4 million identified as future known commitments, by the end of the financial year.

NHS: Procurement

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they are ensuring that the Lead Provider Framework procurement process is not used to continue employing expensive management consultants.

Lord Prior of Brampton: Clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) will make decisions about their requirements when procuring services from the Lead Provider Framework and evaluate responses in order to appoint to the provider that represents the highest quality and best value for money.The Framework contains nine accredited lead providers that bring together a range of partners and specialist organisations in analytical and intelligence services, contracting and transformation to ensure CCGs can source a diverse range of skills and expertise on a more efficient basis than employing management consultants.NHS England created the Lead Provider Framework to enable CCGs to access affordable commissioning support from at scale providers so they would not have to rely on expensive management consultants sometimes of variable quality.

Cancer

Lord Freyberg: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what molecular testing takes place in the UK in mesothelioma and other rare cancers; and how that compares to more common cancers such as breast, lung or colorectal cancer.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The UK Genetic Testing Network evaluates new genetic tests and aims to promote equity of access to genetic testing in the National Health Service. Genetic testing is not performed routinely in cases of mesothelioma and there is currently no approved genetic test for patients with mesothelioma.In September 2015, the Department confirmed a commitment from NHS England to implement the independent Cancer Taskforce’s recommendations on molecular diagnostics. This will mean that around 25,000 additional people a year will have their cancers genetically tested to identify the most effective treatments.

Cancer

Lord Freyberg: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment the National Institute for Health Research Horizon Scanning Research and Intelligence Centre and Genomic England have made of the potential of precision oncology for less common cancers.

Lord Freyberg: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment the National Institute for Health Research Horizon Scanning Research and Intelligence Centre and Genomic England have made of the barriers to adopting national molecular pathology.

Lord Prior of Brampton: Genomics England undertook a comprehensive assessment of the technological and scientific challenges faced by molecular pathology in the context of the 100,000 Genomes Project. As part of the Project there has been extensive experimental work to identify best practice for molecular pathology (and more specifically genomics). In particular, the sequencing of whole tumour genomes at scale poses a significant scientific and clinical challenge. The Project is pushing these boundaries, driving new scientific knowledge and transformational change. Like all transformative projects there are barriers but the Project is providing the impetus to address those challenges.Genomics England is working in partnership with NHS England, Health Education England and the newly inaugurated NHS Genomic Medicine Centres to facilitate the translation of scientific developments into practice, and to support the development of the molecular pathology workforce.The Project will involve in-depth analysis of tumour genomics, creating new scientific discoveries which will in turn inform precision oncology. The Project includes both common and rare tumours to spread the transformative impact of the project across a range of cancer types.In 2014, theNational Institute for Health Research Horizon Scanning Research and Intelligence Centreadvised the NHS England Molecular Testing Group (cancer) on the potential for horizon scanning in the use of genomic tests for cancer.

Pathology

Lord Freyberg: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress the Chief Scientific Officer of NHS England is making towards the introduction of a national molecular pathology service.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The Independent Cancer Taskforce recognised the need for more accessible molecular diagnostic provision in their report ‘Achieving World-Class Cancer Outcomes, published in July 2015, a copy of which is attached. In September 2015, the Department confirmed a commitment from NHS England to implement the Taskforce’s recommendations on molecular diagnostics.NHS England is currently working with partners across the healthcare system to determine how best to take forward the recommendations of the Taskforce.



Achieving World Class Cancer Outcomes
(PDF Document, 4.91 MB)